Cartographic Perspectives

Review of Strata: William Smith’s Geological Maps

Christopher A. Badurek — 2023-06-12

Review of The Letchworth State Park Atlas: Exploring its Nature, History, and Tourism through Maps

Daniel G. Cole — 2023-06-12

Review of Clock and Compass: How John Byron Plato Gave Farmers a Real Address

Russell S. Kirby — 2023-06-12

Review of Clock and Compass: How John Byron Plato Gave Farmers a Real Address

Matthew Hampton — 2023-06-12

Review of Data Visualization for Design Thinking: Applied Mapping

Mike Wissner — 2023-06-12

Review of Emma Willard: Maps of History

Mark Monmonier — 2023-06-12

Instructions to Authors

Daniel P. Huffman — 2023-06-12

Ungrading for Cartographic Education: Reflections from Small Undergraduate Classes

Heather Rosenfeld — 2023-06-12

Improving Detail in Shaded Relief

Gene Trantham — 2023-06-12

The standard “hillshade” tool included in most GIS software suites implements a simple model of lighting with a set of assumptions that make the tool fast and easy to use. This simplified lighting model can visually degrade steep terrains, producing over-dark areas and removing important terrain detail. The underlying model can, however, be manipulated to output displays without these drawbacks. This mimics the effect of ambient light without complicating the lighting model by introducing additional light sources. This article will briefly describe the underpinnings of Lambertian shaders, then demonstrate how the traditions and assumptions built into most GIS tools can be removed to give more flexibility and control over results. Finally, shadows will be discussed as a separate addition to shaded relief.

Understanding Maps after Multimodal Literature: A New Taxonomy

Thomas Mantzaris — 2023-06-12

The article examines literature’s multifaceted engagement with maps and proposes a five-category taxonomy that refines existing classifications. I suggest that the understanding of maps in literature should be increasingly informed by practices encountered in multimodal literary texts, a genre with a rapidly expanding critical framework. The innovative collection of map-based stories Where You Are (2013) by Visual Editions, is provided as a case study. The analysis of three selected pieces from the collection highlights the intersections between literature and cartography as well as establishes the significance of design in building literary narratives.

Multivalent Cartographic Accessibility: Tactile Maps for Collaborative Decision-Making

Harrison Cole — 2023-06-12

Conventional visual maps present significant accessibility challenges for blind or low vision users, leaving them with few or no options for interpreting spatial data. This need not be the case: tactile maps, designed to be read through touch, have been published for more than a century. But they have most often been categorized as a navigation tool, or mere “tactile graphics” (i.e., not as expressly spatial documents). Tactile maps that allow their users to explore and synthesize thematic spatial data are rare, as are studies evaluating them. As our world continues to face existential threats that are spatial in nature—pandemics, supply chain disruptions, floods, etc.—maps will continue to provide critical information in ways that other media are unable to match. In the absence of accessible thematic maps, blind people will not only be left out of the loop, but their capacity for contributing valuable input will be severely diminished. In response, I describe here a study that evaluates the potential of thematic tactile maps for providing blind users an accessible means of analyzing spatial data when working in collaboration with sighted partners. Findings indicate that while the maps did not prove to be useful tools on their own, they did facilitate collaboration between blind or low vision participants and sighted participants. This suggests that, with some refinements, similar maps could be feasibly distributed as a means for people with visual disabilities to meaningfully participate in an otherwise inaccessible process that requires the synthesis of thematic spatial information.

About the Cover

Molly O'Halloran — 2023-06-12

Masthead

Daniel P. Huffman — 2023-06-12

Letter from the Editor

Jim Thatcher — 2023-06-12

Letter from the Past-president

Patrick Kennelly — 2023-06-12